Where do I start? I guess the beginning works as well as anywhere. I couldn't sing - notice I said couldn't). At all. I'd been previously compared to a screeching bobcat, nails on a chalkboard and that shriek-y sound your fork makes on a porcelain plate. I never thought about singing and wouldn't dream of ever doing it seriously in front of someone else. I also could not play an instrument. Which is why when I was trying to come up with ideas to propose to my girlfriend I thought, "Hey, let's learn to play her a song on the guitar and sing it prior to proposing." I wanted to do something that required work and thoughtfulness and something COMPLETELY out of character for me. So, I came to Yelp and found Davin. I first met Davin in December of 2012, I told him my plan and he was incredibly enthusiastic. He made me feel at ease from the moment I started warming-up my voice. I can't tell you how difficult that was as I was a complete nervous wreck. Here I am trying to seriously sing in front of someone for the first time . . . ever, and Davin could not have been nicer. I ended up having multiple lessons with Davin and I found him incredibly helpful. Not only did he help me with singing but he also helped me with arranging my song on the guitar! He had me bring in my guitar for several lessons prior to the big night and his instruction on how to play and sing at the same time was crucial to helping me prepare. Now, I do not think I am a good singer, or even an okay singer, but the most important and wonderful thing Davin did was instill in me a sense of confidence. He honestly believed I could follow-through with this plan and as a result he had me believing in it myself. I remember the day before the proposal I had a lesson with Davin where nothing could go right. My guitar playing was horrid and my voice had no strength. I was getting incredibly frustrated - an understatement - and Davin completely calmed me down and helped me relax and to intrinsically understand that I was going do great. Fast forward about 24 hours and I'm sitting with my fiance in our hotel suite when I pull out the guitar and absolutely NAIL the song. Guitar playing was perfect and my voice sounded as good as it ever had. The fiance was absolutely shocked by the performance - in a good way - and said yes. :) So, TL:DR - Davin is an amazing instructor who cares about his students and playing an integral role in one of the biggest nights of my life. I cannot think of a Yelp business more worth a 5 star rating than his. read more

I've been working with Davin for 3+ years now (holy cow, time FLIES!) I've taken music lessons throughout my whole life for various instruments, but hands down, Davin is my favorite teacher I've ever had. I had never been confident in singing before, but Davin has shown me what's possible with my voice and is working with me to stretch beyond that. The lessons are really fun! I was super nervous when I first started, but Davin is really friendly and encouraging, and the studio space is relaxing and welcoming. I appreciate his focus on technique and how to use the physicality of your body to create the right sound. I've learned a lot about how to use breath, posture, and the shape of my mouth to sing and how much of an impact that makes on my vocal delivery. I'm a songwriter and play in a band, and so I've gotten to workshop my songs during my lessons and get feedback and help on the vocal parts. Short story on me: I've played in rock bands since high school. I attempted singing in the beginning but was really uncomfortable with it, and so over the years usually hung back playing bass or keyboards. I never thought I could ever be the lead singer and didn't really have the desire to. Flash forward to my current band: the girl who had been mostly singing lead suddenly left so the rest of us decided to figure out if we could just do all the vocals ourselves. I found Davin because I was interested in learning how to sing and decided it was time to step outside of my comfort zone. Over the past few years, I think Davin really helped me find my voice. And now I sing in my band all the time and have a lot of fun with it. I think the real turning point was when my band was in the recording studio recently. We recorded a couple of songs that I sing lead on, and I am really happy and proud of how my voice sounds. I can definitely say that my singing has improved from taking lessons with Davin. I still have a way to go in my vocal journey, but I'm excited to see where that goes. I highly recommend taking a lesson if you're interested in singing (I haven't worked with his other associates, but they seem great, too.) Even if you only take one lesson, you will learn a lot about yourself and your voice in that 45 minutes. read more

A year later and still five stars! I don't think I can talk positively enough about Davin, but this review isn't about that - if you want to read all the sappy emotional voice teacher love that I have for him, go to my last review. However, since I started taking lessons with him, Davin's business has grown a TON, to the point where he's brought on another coach named Missy. To some degree, I liked Missy immediately simply because we share a name and I'm ridiculous and 4 years old. That said, I've taken voice lessons with her since she's come on, and she is SO. GREAT. She brought an awesome new perspective that really helped me to break through some of the emoting issues I was continually having with Davin, and from the very first time I talked to her, I felt at ease and not shy about singing at all, which is huge. It would probably behoove me a great deal to take some more classes with her, because she has a different teaching style than Davin which is equally effective, and it's awesome to find new ways to reach or improve upon the same goals with regards to my ~personal vocal journey~ or whatever. ALSO I SHOULD NOTE - in addition to voice lessons, Davin et al offer various workshops about other aspects of performance, such as monologue delivery and successful auditioning. I took two? I think? workshops with him and Katie, who is another one of his associates, and they were super helpful and really economical. Katie's a working theatre professional in Chicago, and runs her own theatre company, so she knows what's up, and I've definitely used the stuff I learned in those workshops successfully in subsequent auditions. SO. Long story short. If you have any fleeting interest whatsoever in singing, you need to take yourself right on down to 410 S Michigan Ave, 5th Floor, basically any day of the week (but like...make an appointment guys), and talk to ANYONE hanging out in that studio, because they are all terrific. Frankly I'm wary of telling you all about them because it's gonna be harder for me to schedule class time now. read more

I started singing with Davin Youngs Voice in June of 2013 (so, 9 months ago) and I have to say that choosing to give this studio a try is one of the best things I've done for myself since moving to Chicago in 2011. I don't think it's necessary to go into particulars about why I personally sought out voice lessons, but, what IS important is that Davin's style and demeanor has made the entire learning process a challenging and introspective joy. As a teacher he is many things - supportive, observant, personable - but what I like best about working with him is that he does not hold to any sort of rigid "my way or the highway" teaching approach. Rather, he's taken his philosophy on singing and has adapted it to suit my quirks, weaknesses and learning style. Sometimes the going gets tough, but no matter what, I leave every lesson on a near weekly basis feeling happier than I had been when I walked in. I think it's also important to note that Davin recently brought a new teacher into his studio, Missy Wise. I sang with Missy earlier this winter, and she's a great fit for the approach to singing/teaching that Davin fosters. By simply asking me a few questions about my challenges as a singer and listening to me sing through a few scales, Missy threw me into vocal warm ups that got right to the root of my problems. When we worked on my song, she came at it from a performance perspective, still working on technique but changing my focus to exploring the song through feeling and emotion. So, all in all, this is a great studio. Davin and Missy are focused on teaching not only what is, technically, right, but also on pinpointing and cultivating a technique that feels right for the individual singer. It's really cool stuff. read more

Almost 2 years ago, I was on the prowl for a vocal instructor and ran across Davin's post on Craigslist. At first I was a little hesitant, because I previously had bad luck with another instructor on Craigslist, but man, did I find a gem of an instructor! Without sounding too over the top, taking lessons with Davin has changed my life. When I first started taking lessons with him, I was easily intimidated and extremely self-conscious of my vocal ability. Since 2010, I've not only gained more confidence in my singing voice (enough to start auditioning for shows), but my tone and technique have improved pretty dramatically. Granted, you have to practice to achieve results, but without Davin's guidance I would still be a timid, self-conscious, "shower" singer. His vocal lessons are the highlight of my week. I always walk out of the lesson feeling really good about myself and about the work we accomplished. He goes above and beyond in lessons to ensure there is plenty of work to do on a song/piece. There's always something you can do to make the song/piece sound better, or a change you can make that will give it different texture. Since the possibilities are endless, it forces me, as a vocalist, to try new things and to think outside the box (as much as I resist this sometimes in my lessons haha)! Davin makes me work hard in lessons and I appreciate that to no end. It keeps me from being a lazy vocalist. Best of all is that I'm almost 2 years in and there is still plenty of work to be done. I'm excited to see our relationship continue! read more

Davin is an excellent Voice Coach. I found him via yelp a couple months ago and contacted him through his helpful website. (If you haven't checked his website you should - it even has a video recording of him working with students - quite helpful). He immediately responded and shortly thereafter I was in the studio meeting with him for my "tester" lesson. While I greatly appreciate this tester run-through, it was unnecessary. I knew right away that I was in good hands! Davin is a very good listener and seemed very confident in helping me to achieve my personal singing goals. I am a former singer who has been out of practice for over 8 years. My goals were to get my voice back in shape and work on my voice as a soloist rather than a choral singer. Right away, doing simple warm-ups, Davin had great directions for me to achieve just that. All in all, Davin is very good at what he does. He has countless hours of experience and will help you reach your singing goals - whatever they may be. More perks - he suggests music books for your vocal range and you specifically. He is a good sight reader and proficient piano player, so you have good accompaniment when sight-reading. You can be as loud as you want in his studio because there are no neighbors. His prices are decent, though I don't know what the going rate is these days. I'm pretty broke, but can afford 2 lessons a month. Plus, he's super nice and encouraging. read more

I'm someone who loves singing in the confines of my apartment, alone, but after some time I realized I truly wanted to improve my singing and this wasn't going to happen on its own. So I sought out Davin. I am someone with no professional musical training whatsoever, I only know guitar tablature and absolutely refuse to sing in front of anyone so as to save their ears from the apocalypse. Needless to say, I was pretty nervous about going to a vocal teacher and having to actually sing in front of a real live person. I emailed Davin to see about starting lessons and he was super encouraging about coming in despite my concerns. We set up a lesson and it's all been awesome since. Davin really makes you feel comfortable and like he is not judging your vocal abilities at all. I've learned so much about my voice in the short time I've worked with him and have already been able to build my range a bit more. Like another reviewer said, I'm very grateful for his constant correction of my poor posture and things like that that stand in the way of good singing. He is clearly a professional in his field but is also really fun to take lessons from and has instilled more confidence in my ability. I have a long ways to go on my singing but it's been a great start and I look forward to working with Davin for a long time to come. read more

I have been working with Davin for over a year now; But I must say that since I found him I have never been happier in terms of singing. Before him, I went through a few voice teachers, and they were not the right fit.Technique wise repertoire, or personality. From day one I felt immediately comfortable. I needed help with a piece for an audition, I majored in theater but I am not comfortable with my voice. He is patient with me and works to help me free me from myself. The thing I love most about working with Davin is that he is Real. He will tell you straight up what you are doing wrong, (especially if a repeat offense) as well as praise you when you get it right. I have a broad range but I am very very confident in my lower register. He encourages me to challenge myself to stop playing it safe, and use the upper register to show off all of what I can do. I must say that I have heard the difference in my voice from when I began with him til now, and I am getting more confident with each lesson. I feel that the longer I work with him the more I will grow as a performer. Davin makes me feel as if I am Bernadette Peters, Audra McDonald, Adele,Beyonce you name it all rolled into one. If you are looking for an affordable, talented genuine honest teacher; then look no further this is your guy. read more

Davin is great. I found him to be very professional, knowledgeable and friendly. He listens closely and thinks deeply about where you are with your voice, and develops for you a logical and insightful regimen of exercises and techniques to address general and specific issues with your singing, both in and between sessions. He adjusts his approach for you as he perceives changes and improvements over subsequent sessions, identifying and addressing troublespots as they materialize. He continually asks questions to determine how you're assessing your own progress and where you want to go, showing you how to play to your strengths and helping you to grow. I was particularly impressed to find that he undertakes continuous personal improvement of his own vocal ability, as well as his academic craft of vocal instruction, bringing interesting relevant examples in from his own recent experiences to illustrate teaching points. Really, this is what this guy does. The atmosphere in his studio is relaxed, bright and cheerful. If you want to know what professional vocal instruction looks like, go to see him. read more

I have been studying voice with Missy Wise at Davin Youngs Voice for over a year now and am extremely happy with my results. Missy knows the voice so well and has helped me understand how to implement specific exercises and practice for improving technique and song performance. She is able to recognize issues within the voice and how to pinpoint what needs to be worked on to resolve those issues. Missy is also excellent at breaking down a song for working on specific phrases and sections before putting it all together for the best performance. The studios at Davin Youngs Voice are very comfortable and relaxing environments and I always feel welcome and relaxed during my lessons. I highly recommend Missy Wise for singers at any level. She has helped me improve my singing and technique so much and I'm looking forward to continuing the journey with her as my singing coach/instructor. read more

Davin and Missy are both absolutely excellent teachers. I started taking lessons here about six months ago and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either of them for anyone looking to start or continue singing. I was nervous coming in that I would feel "silly" or wouldn't be good enough but both Davin and Missy are skilled at creating a friendly, supportive working environment and they both have a great sense of humour... which is super helpful if you are nervous or shy. They also push you to attain the very best that you can in each class and place a lot of emphasis on good technique - I've certainly seen an improvement in both my voice and confidence since I started taking lessons here. I really can't recommend them enough - singing lessons here are both productive and fun, and I always leave with a smile on my face (and usually a song stuck in my head!) read more

I am a Vocal Producer/Singing Teacher who works in Australia. I travel to the States to do advantaged training to pass onto my own clients in Australia. I had heard that Davin was a very well educated singing teacher and that he would be able to give me some progressive information on singing for my contemporary and rock clients. I was very satisfied with the information I gathered from Davin while i was in Chicago. I would recommend him to anyone seeking a singing teacher, whether you are an advantaged student or a beginner. He has a lovely warm and calm personality, able to put you at ease to do your best work. I found Davin to be an excellent communicator, he has lots of tools and information to help you find your unique sound. I look forward to taking more lessons from Davin next time i am in Chicago. read more

Once I moved to Chicago, I was looking for singing lessons and I randomly found Davin Youngs on Google. His experience, his background and his performances convinced me. I decided to book a lesson. I did not have any expectations. I just wanted to sing and to improve my abilities. After a few warm ups, Davin could tell what was good and what was wrong with my singing. We spent 6 months working on it and everytime, Davin was patient enough to challenge my vocal abilities, to extend my comfort zone. The approach, the song choices and his kindness made me come back every week. I'm moving back to France but I am definitely bringing with me great memories and great tools to keep on singing in Paris. And I will definitely spread the word about Davin Youngs Voice Lessons! Thank you Davin! -David read more

When I first looked for voice teachers I hit a few bumps but then thank goodness found Davin. I've been working with him for almost a year now and can literally feel and hear the transformation in my voice. I sing as a hobby but have come so far that I can now actually picture myself singing for others not just for myself. Davin is great about explaining what does and doesn't work with your voice. He also runs through and changes up exercises depending on where you're having issues. The setting is also very comfortable and I never feel embarrassed to sing which at first I thought I would be. I think this is a great place for beginners, professionals, and anyone in between. read more

I was in the audience at a recent master class conducted by Davin. I was impressed with his ability to engage his students and the audience in unique and interesting ways. I was also surprised at how he was able to hear problems and offer simple suggestions that yielded impressive results. As a non-musician, I found his communication style both easy to understand and sophisticated. You can tell he truly understands the way the body works as an instrument and was able to help his singers use their instrument in better ways. Based on this class, I would recommend him to both beginning an advanced singers. It seems he has something to offer each! read more

Davin is beyond amazing. I've been singing for years but haven't taken classes in a long time and I'm always weary about vocal coaches. However, the minute you walk into Davin's studio, it is like seeing an old friend. It is warm and welcoming and Davin is insightful, knowledgeable and encouraging. After 2 sessions, I started hearing notes I didn't know I could reach. As Davin would say "it's always been there, you just haven't exercised it." I adore Davin and I had the pleasure of meeting Missy and both are excellent. They know what they are doing, and they care deeply about helping you achieve your goals. Wonderful all around!! read more

I love love love working with Missy Wise! I have worked with two other vocal teachers in years past and I feel like I've made more progress with Missy in the past year than I have before. I also have a much better understanding of some "bad" habits I've developed throughout the years. Missy is great at meeting you where you are, figuring out how best to work with your voice, and provides great feedback. The studio space is great and I love that it's located in the Fine Arts Building. If you're looking for a place to really work on your vocal instrument whether for fun or professionally look no further than here! read more

If you're questioning whether or not to take lessons from Davin, just give him a try! I can't imagine what someone would be looking for that he doesn't have. His energy is amazing, he's ready to work at whatever pace you're comfortable with (no guilt trips for not practicing but also plenty of tools to keep you going if you're really dedicated), and he is so passionate! I wanted to take lessons again after a long time off but was worried about the cost...Davin is totally worth it! Working with him I feel challenged, supported, complimented, and energized. I highly recommend him, no matter what your goals are. read more

I came to Davin quite shy about singing in public or in front of strangers. So, I was really excited when I saw how patient and friendly (and funny!) Davin was. I always looked forward to my time with him each week and within a few lessons I started to become more confident in my voice. Every time I walked into his studio, I knew I could just let loose and sing. Davin was able to bring my voice outside of my head, while helping me maintain proper technique and vocal health. Regardless of what genre of music you are interested in (classical, pop, folk, etc), I highly recommend Davin. read more